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WEEK                                                                         LECTURE TOPICS

I                RELIGIOUS WORLDS: INTRODUCTION & VEDIC RELIGION

Pre-Vedic/Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic texts & sacrifice, Purusha creation story, the four varªas, ¸ryans

• Introduction,: Requiem for a Faith - Film

Early India, Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic Traditions,
Vedic religion, Altar of Fire - Film
Order and sacrifice
• READ: Ludwig pp. 1-38, 64-65; Embree pp1-47; Reading Packet section #1 (W. Paden: Worldspp.51-65, D. Knipe Hinduism, pp.715-753

II              VEDIC RELIGION, EARLY HINDUISM, & JAINISM

Brahman/¸tman,˜ramana (asceticism) movements, alternatives to Vedic religions, speculation, meditation, yoga

• Society, self, and cosmos

Upanishads, Meditation and Yoga
Frontiers of Peace: Jainism in India -Video
Emergence of Jainism and Buddhism
• READ: Ludwig pp. 38-63, 65-80,130-141; Embree Part II pp. 48-150, Reading Packet section #2: (Chandogya Upanishad, pp. 116-125; Jainism pp.49 ff.).

III            DEVOTIONALISM, HINDU PANTHEON, & TANTRISM

Karma, reincarnation and liberation, individual-god relationships and experiences, Hindu pantheon and texts

• Monday 1/20 HOLIDAY

Bhagavad Gita
Mahabharata & Ramayana Epics, Puranas, Hindu Tantras
Comparative Southeast Asian Ramayana/Mahabharata performance
• READ: Embree pp. 168-223, Reading Packet sections 3:1/ Bhagavad Gitapp.45-109, and 4:2/ "˜abari escapes rebirth", pp.298-300.

IV             CONTEMPORARY HINDU RELIGIOUS LIFE

Ritual experience, offerings, darshan, prasad, rites of passage, sacred geography, the 330 million gods

• Hindu Pantheon- 330 Million Gods -Video

Bhakti devotion - poetry and songs of endearment
Varieties of worship and devotion to Gods, Goddesses, and God families
Vows, fasts, and pilgrimages: ideas about space and place
• READ: Embree pp. 227-270, Ludwig Chap. 9; Reading Packet sections 3:2/ The Story of Dak¬a's Sacrifice, and 4:1/ The Story of the Enlightenment of the N¹gas.

V              BUDDHISM - INDIAN ORIGINS AND SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ASIAN THERAV¸DA

Life of the Buddha, monastic life vs. asceticism, vows, 4 truths, chain of causation, (Pratityasamutpada), wheel of existence, protective ceremonies (Paritta)

• Monday 2/3 MIDQUARTER EXAMINATION (covers weeks 1-4)

Footprint of the Buddha - Film
Overview of Buddhism
Indian Theravada and Mahayana - Pilgrimage, Devotion, Asceticism, Monasticism, Bodhisattvas
• READ: Ludwig Chap. 5 & 6; Strong Chap.1, Chap.2, Chap 3; Reading Packet section #5 (M. Carrithers on Buddhism in Sri Lanka pp.133-146; Questions of King Milinda, p.40-45; VyàghriJàtaka, pp.65-66,85-92; Therig¹tha pp.80-83, 177-183.

VI            MAHAYANA AND THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM TO EAST ASIA (CHINA AND JAPAN)

Altruism, Bodhisattvas, Buddhist pantheon, devotionalism, offerings to stupa monuments, sociopolitical effects of monasticism

• Overview of Chinese Buddhisms Buddhism in China - Film

Chinese Buddhism: T'ien t'ai and Pure Land, Ch'an
Japanese Buddhism: Tendai, Pure Land, Zen
Land of the Disappearing Buddha Video
• READ: Ludwig - Part II sections relating to Buddhism; Strong Chap. 4, 5.1-5.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.82; Reading Packet #6 (Selections: Hui-neng, Huang-Po).

VII           MAHAYANA AND VAJRAYANA (TANTRIC BUDDHISM) IN NEPAL AND JAPAN

Mandalas and psychocosmic realization, transformations of body, voice and mind, modes of ritual action, ritual arts

• Monday 2/17 HOLIDAY

Japanese Vajrayana Buddhism - Shingon
Vajrayana Buddhism in Nepal
Vajrayana Buddhism in Nepal -: Householders, Women, and Buddhism
• READ: Ludwig pp.95-96; Strong 5.5, 8.3-8.81, 8.83-8.9; Reading Packet #7 Robinson/Johnson, pp.133-154; Snellgrove, Tantras; Lewis, Tara Vratakatha.

VIII            MAHAYANA AND VAJRAYANA IN TIBET AND SHAMANISM IN INNER AND NORTH ASIA

Possession, spirit helpers, spiritual flights, sickness and healing, the power of the drum

• Tibetan Buddhism 1

Tibetan Buddhism 2
Damàju-VajrayànaWoman Healer in Nepali
Bon & Inner/North Asian Shamanism
• READ: Strong Chap. 7, Reading Packet section #8 (Nine Witch Sisters, selections on Bon religion), recommended video film: Tibetan Buddhism: Cycles of Interdependence (Odegaard Media RESERVE).

IX               ANCESTOR WORSHIP IN CHINESE RELIGIONS, CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM

Ancestors; morality; sociopolitical order; nature, self and cosmos

• Musok - Korean Shamanism

Popular Religion in China Hungry Ghosts - Film
Chinese Religions: Confucius and his teachings
Taoism- Lao-tzu and Chuang tzu
• READ: Ludwig Chap. 10, 11, 12, 13; Reading Packet section #9 (W. Chan, Confucious, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu).

X               SHINTO AND NEW RELIGIONS IN JAPAN

• Religion in Contemporary China: Believing - Film

Shinto and Kami spirits
New Religions: Rush Hour of the Gods
Final review
• READ: Ludwig Ch 14, 15, 16; ; Reading Packet section #10 (Shinto Readings, pp. 231-246; Earhart, "New Religions," pp. 237-255).